Elegteio signaling between eailway trains



(No Model.)

J. J. GZEPULL.

ELEGTRIG SIGNALING BETWEEN RAILWAY TRAINS. No. 515,145.- Patented Feb. 20, 1894.

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Farc-Nr JULIUS JACOB OZEPULL, OF LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO EMIL MEYER, OF SAME PLACE.

ELECTRIC'SIGNALING BETWEEN RAILWAY-TRAINS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 515,145, dated February 20, 1894.

Application iiled August 8, 1893. Serial No. 482,662. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J ULIUs JACOB CZEPULL, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, residing in Lancaster, in the county of Lancaster and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Electric Signaling between Railway-Trains,ot which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in electric railway signals; and the object of the invention is to enable locomotives to signal their approach to each other.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of the various parts, as hereinafter fully described, and then specifically pointed out in the claims.

I attain my object by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side view of a locomotive having the signaling apparatus attached thereto, portions of the cab and boiler being cut away to fully show thesame. Fig. 2 is a top plan 4view of the rails of the track, the electrical and signaling apparatus, and the wheels of the locomotive connected therewith. Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view of the throttle-lever and the device connected therewith for opening and closing the electric circuit, and Fig. 4. a tcp view of said device taken on the line of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of apair of drivin g-wheels and their axle, showing a device for separating them electrically.

Similarlettersindicatelikeparts throughout the several views.

Referring to the details ot' the drawings, A indicates the rails ot' a railway track, the adjacent ends of those of each line being united by wires A', forming electrical connection between them.

B is a circuit rail (so called for the purposes of this specification), and is located midway between the track rails.

Beneath the rear of the cab C there is a wheel D, attached thereto by a hanger D, and which engages and travels over circuit rail B. A contact plate CZ is bolted to hanger D and bears against wheel D.

Beneath one of the seats of the cab there is placed an electric battery E, one pole of which is connected with contact-plate d by a Wire e and the other by a wire e with a contact pin f, passing through one end of a horizontal bar F, formed of any suitable non-conducting material and supported above the floor of the cab by legs f. Acontact-pin f2, passing through the other end of bar F, is connected with one part of an alarm G, secured to the front ot' the cab, by a Wire g, and the other part of said alarm is connected by a Wire g with the npper ends of wires g2, the lower ends of which are attached to contact-plates H, secured to opposite sides of the engine and having their free ends bearing against the rear drivingwheels W. l

I indicates a throttle-lever having attached thereto a contact-bar L, located opposite to and parallel with bar F. Contact-bar L is moved to and fro with said lever in opening and closing the throttle. Through contact-bar L there are perforations, Z, of greater diameter than contact-pinsfand f2, projecting from bar F and havingattached thereto, respectively, connecting-wires e and g. As said lever moves contact barL the side of said contact-bar slides on or against the ends of pins fand f2 and is in contact therewith while said lever holds thel throttle open, thus closing the end of the circuit in the engine. But when said lever is in the position it occupies when the throttle is closed, perforations Z register with pins f and f2, as shown in Fig. 4 and the connection between said pins and the contact-bar is broken and the circuit is broken. That the circuit may be closed when perforations Z are opposite contact pins j' and f2, there is attached to the outer side of contact-bar L a key formed of any suitable material and comprising a jointed lever M, having thesections fulcrumed in lugs fm, a handle or thumb button M at the end of one ot the sections, a spring m between said button and the face of contactbar L, and contact-pins m2 on the inner faces of the lever sections engaging perforations Z and having their freeends normally held back within 4the inner face of said contact bar. As will be seen, the joint between the lever-sections is such that pressure on the thumbbutton causes both pins m2 to engage the contact-pins f and f2, when said contact pins register with perforations Z, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4., thus closing that end of IOC the circuit. Lugs m and the face of contactbar L adjacent to the jointed lever are formed of any non-conducting material. It' desirable, when two locomotives are electrically connected, telegraphic signals may be exchanged by means of the key.

In Fig. 5 is shown a device for electrically separating the driving-wheels W. The axle V is divided in the center and on the contiguous ends thereof are formed annular flanges R, between which is interposed a plate, r, of any suitable non-conductin g material, said Hanges and the plate a being properly secured by bolts t. The device just described must be attached to the different locomotives, as a complete circuit can alone be formed by closing the ends of the circuits in the two locomotives on the same track or on two tracks connected by a closed switch. One pole of each battery is connected with both track rails to insure a circuit with each locomotive going in either direction. Circuit rail B is divided into convenient sections separated by an interval h, as shown in Fig. 2 of sufficient width to completely break electrical connection between them. These sections are formed similarly to the divisions of a road by the block system, and the intervals between them are generally placed opposite the signal towers ofthe road, so that should a locomotive be accidentally allowed to pass onto a section or block still occupied by another train the electrical alarms would at once apprise the engineers of both locomotives of the fact. The intervals are also formed at opposite sides of switches, the openingand closing of the switch forming a break in or closing of the circuit rail.

I do not limit myself to the particular arrangement or location of parts herein shown and described, as many changes maybe made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention= what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an electric-signal, the combination, with a bar having contact-pins in opposite ends thereof, of electrical conductors connected with said pins, a movable contact-bar constructed to bear against said contact-pins, said contact-bar having perforations adapted to register with the contact-pins, and a key secured to the contact-bar and having pins entering said perforations and adapted to be simultaneously engaged with said contactpins when said perforations register theremotive having a contact wheel engaging the circuit rail, a bar having contact-pins in opposite ends thereof, a battery connected with the contact-wheel and one of the contact-pins in said bar, a connection `between the other contact-pin of said bar and an alarm, a connection between the alarm and a track-rail, and a contact-bar secured to the throttle-lever and constructed to bear against said contact pins, said contact-bar having perforations adapted to register with the contactpins when the throttle is closed, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. In an electric signal, the combination, with a track' having a circuit rail, of a locomotive having a contact-wheel engaging the circuit rail, a bar having contact-pins in opposite ends thereof, a battery connected with the contact-wheel and one of .the contact-pins in said bar, a connection between the other contact pin of said bar and an alarm, a connection between the alarm and a track rail,

- and a key fulcrumed opposite said bar and having pins adapted to be simultaneously engaged with said contact-pins, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4. In an electric signal, the combination, with a track having a circuit rail, of a locomotive having a contact-wheel engaging the circuit rail, a bar having contact-pins in opposite ends thereof,a battery connected with the contact-wheel and one of the contact-pins in said bar, a connection between the other contact-pin of said bar and an alarm, a connection between the alarm and a track rail, a contact-bar secured to the throttle lever and constructed to bear against said contact-pins, said contact-bar having perforations adapted to register with the contact-pins when the throttle is closed, and a key secured to the contact-bar and having pins entering said perforations and adapted to be engaged with said contact-pins when the same register with the perforations, substantially as and for the purpose specified. 1

j JULIUS JACOB CZEPULL.

Witnesses:

JACOB HALBACH, WM. R. GERHART.

ICO 

